Starbound
by McKnight
Summary: Magical beehive hairdos and an Earthbound-style adventure! Full summary inside! (NOT a crossover, save for two characters from another anime.)
1. Day of the Beehive

**Summary: **Basically a homage to (but NOT an actual crossover with) the Earthbound/Mother trilogy. Shortly after the anime ends, Kagami, Konata, and Miyuki each have their hair mysteriously done up into what's called a beehive, and at first, can't seem to figure out how their hair got that way. This, however, is only the beginning of what's to come. After something much more serious happens late into the night, they and Tsukasa will be contacted by someone who also had her hair updone, and who knows exactly what's about to unfold and what purpose their new hairstyles serve. All five girls agree to meet somewhere and follow her back to her home to learn more, before embarking on a journey in which they will travel around the world, fight aliens and every-one and –thing under said aliens' influence, and make friends with four other girls and even their first real male* friend ever, as they seek out a certain deity for answers regarding the situation as a whole.

(*Yes, I am aware that including even _one_ guy in the party will alienate some readers, no matter what I do, though I am open to suggestions on how to handle him well. No, he will not be getting a hive, nor will any other male characters, and for a fandom like this, though, I would never go as far as to give the male gender as a whole an equal role to females, nor will I have more than the one permanent male member, although gender might be irrelevant regarding anyone who joins just briefly.)

**Special thanks to: **Yincira and my other close friend Jake, for all the advice they've given me for both this chapter and the fic as a whole, even though the former isn't enough of a slice-of-life fan to watch the anime and the latter would rather have little to do with anything by Kyoto Animation that isn't Nichijou. If anyone more familiar with the anime would like to help me keep everyone in character, I'd more than welcome it.

**Disclaimer: **Lucky Star is property of Kagami Yoshimizu. Anything derived from or otherwise pertaining to the Earthbound/Mother trilogy is property of Shigesato Itoi. And, two certain guest characters to appear here are property of Group SNE. (More about them later.)

* * *

_Kasukabe, a suburban town in Saitama, Japan._

…_.._

_The year is 200X._

…_.._

_Ryouou High School_

"What a horrible smell," said a girl with long, butterscotch-colored hair, while pinching her nose shut.

"Ugh! Does it stink or what!" replied a girl with long, lavender hair done in narrow twin ponytails. She, too, was holding her nose.

Just then, the classroom door slid open, and both girls let go of their noses as they looked to see who was at the door.

"Kagami-sama!" a certain short, flat-chested, blue-haired girl called from the threshold. "Did you get the assignment for world history?"

"I did, and don't think I'm gonna show you my work," replied the twin-tailed girl.

"Aww, don't be so stingy," said the bluenette.

"You never change, Konata. Graduation is only a few months away! If you don't start cleaning up your act now, how will you expect to manage yourself in college, or even in the real world?"

Konata then picked up one of Kagami's ponytails, and started tugging playfully at it.

"Put it down, Konata."

"Not until you let me see your homework."

"**For the last time, you are not seeing my answers!" **she shouted as she yanked the piece of hair out of her friend's hand. "Not like I put all that effort into my schoolwork just so you can leech off of me or something!"

"Come to think of it, when did you start wearing pigtails?"

"Back in Junior High. At some point, I just randomly decided to try them out, just for the heck of it, but then I started getting comments from people saying how cute I looked. Until then, Tsukasa was always the cute one, while I normally got compliments about how mature and responsible I am, so hearing something different felt nice for a change."

"Come to think of it," said Ayano, "I've been thinking of trying out a different hairstyle. Not sure what, though, but I don't want Misa-chan to laugh at me if I put too much effort into it."

"That's a good idea," said Kagami. "Konata, don't you ever think of trying something out yourself? I mean, you have grown it out long enough to do whatever you want with."

"I'd rather do it in the presence of others," the blue-haired girl answered. "It's no fun to do it when you're all alone."

"Don't you think you might get more of a reaction when you try something out in private, and then come out to show it off?" Ayano asked.

"Hmmmm… I guess you're right. Maybe I should take that approach."

_The next morning…_

Kagami yawned as she woke up, and stretched before climbing out of bed. She then wandered into the kitchen, settling down at the table and getting started with her bowl of rice for the morning.

"That's a nice hairstyle you've tried out, Kagami," her mother said while looking oddly somewhere above her head.

She put the bowl down. "Huh?"

"What made you decide to try that out?" asked her father, Tadao.

"What are you talking about?"

Her sisters came in, only to freeze and stare. After a beat, they started snickering.

Kagami reached up to her hair, only to find it missing in the back. Going up, she found all her hair bunched up on her head. She tried pulling down a strand, but as soon as she let it go it shot back up as if magnetically attracted.

She stood up so quickly her chair dropped over and ran to the bathroom.

What she saw in the mirror was terrible. All her hair was bunched up on her head in the shape of a large oval. She tried pulling at it again, but the effect stayed the same. As she failed to undo it, she started panicking. Going to school like this was be totally humiliating; she had to get it back to normal.

Furiously, she ran back to the kitchen.

"All right, which one of you did this to me?" she asked sharply.

Confused, everyone looked at one another. No one admitted to anything, or knew why she'd form her hair in such a way that she'd be embarrassed about, or how anyone else would have been able to pull such a stunt off on her… or for that matter, how the strands she tried to pull back down moments earlier rearranged themselves back in position. Even Kagami herself didn't take long to wonder how anyone could have done that to her in her sleep without her waking up at their constant touching.

The whole way to school, she continued in vain to pull at the strands, dreading how people would react to this sudden change, as well as such an awkward hairstyle itself.

* * *

Not long after she and Tsukasa reached school grounds did Konata come to greet them, her hair also done up into a beehive.

"You too?" all three of them asked in unison.

"What's going on here?" asked Kagami.

"Yuu-chan noticed something different about my hair just when we were saying bye to each other," said Konata. "I could've sworn it was straight back at home."

"I noticed sis's hair shaped like that right after I woke up," said Tsukasa. "She wasn't happy about it."

"At first, I thought one of my sisters played some kind of prank on me, but then again, I don't know who actually would. Besides you, that is."

"Either way, this style is just _moe_!" Konata commented. "Sure hope Miyuki-san's hair also looks like that by now."

"Shut up, that is totally embarrassing!" said Kagami, blushing.

* * *

The blue-haired girl's wish was realized. Inside the hallways, Miyuki was walking to class by herself when an oval-shaped blue gem appeared out of thin air over her head. A commotion broke out as her hair began to rise and wrap itself around the stone, taking the same oval-shaped form that Kagami's and Konata's had taken.

"Wha-What's going on?" she asked.

"Your hair," a nearby girl said. "Something appeared over your head, and now it's acting weird."

At that point, her hair had finished arranging itself, but everyone in the hall was still talking about what had just happened. Embarrassed, the girl covered her face and headed for the girls' room to hide.

* * *

"It happened to you, too?" a certain perpetually shut-eyed boy asked Konata in their classroom.

"You saw someone else?" the girl responded. "Was it Miyuki-san by any chance?"

"You'll never believe it! Like, this weird stone appeared over her head, and then her hair started to rise up and wrap around it, and everyone was like—"

Her heart started pounding in excitement. _Ohhhh, this is gonna be moeeeee!_ she thought to herself.

Minutes went by. The bell rang, homeroom had started, and she still didn't show up.

"Takara-san late to class? That's a first," commented their teacher, Nanako Kuroi.

* * *

She hid inside one of the restroom stalls, trying in vain to bring her hair back down, until the school nurse came in and noticed her.

"Excuse me," said Nurse Fuyuki Amahara. "I've noticed you've been in that same stall since my last visit here. Shouldn't you be in class?"

"It's a little embarrassing, but…" said Miyuki.

"It's okay, I won't laugh."

"Something happened to my hair, and now… _I can't get it back to normal!_"

"Show me."

The girl opened the stall door.

"Why would you style it like that if it embarrasses you?"

"I didn't. Something caused it to end up like this before homeroom started."

The woman made her own attempt to unravel the girl's hair, but the strands just arranged themselves back in place.

"That's weird," the nurse said. "Y'know what, why don't you just remain in there, and I'll go get one of your parents to come get you."

"Thank you very much," said Miyuki.

* * *

Upon coming home, Kagami was about to get started looking for clues online about what had happened involving her and her friends' hair, but then the phone rang.

"Hi."

"Kagami-san?" said Miyuki from on the other end.

"Oh hey, Miyuki. What's going on?"

"Would it be okay if I came over for today's notes and assignments? I had to leave school today."

"Sure. What happened?"

"Something happened to my hair, and—"

"Wait! That happened to me too today!"

"Really?"

"And to Konata, although neither of us were at school yet when it happened. I found it kinda weird, but she thinks it looks 'moe'."

"I see."

"I was just about to look online to see what's going on here."

"Oh, that's a great idea!"

"Well, see ya soon!"

"Good bye."

* * *

After failing to find anything out about the issue at hand, Kagami tirelessly sent emails out, starting with everyone living in Saitama, while waiting for Miyuki to drop by. She came after having hitched a ride in her mother's car, and the two of them and Tsukasa gathered into Kagami's room to go over the material together. Today being the weekend, they decided to let her eat dinner with the rest of the family and sleep over for the night.

* * *

Late that night, all hell broke loose as Kagami heard screams from elsewhere in the house. She jolted out of bed, just in time to notice the outline of desk lamp rise into the air. As if thrown by invisible hands, it came right at her face. She grabbed her pillow and whacked it twice, only for the pillow to burst into feathers. The lamp was deterred for a moment, before it tackled her again and she staggered back, grasping for the doorhandle in the dark. She found it just in time to fall out of her room. The lamp hurled against the wall above her, shattering.

Kagami yelped as she scrambled to her feet. As she ran, lights started to flicker around her, photos on the walls came to life and furniture started to move on its own. She had to dodge a closet and jump over a couch before she reached the door.

Outside, the world was normal again and she stopped, panting hard. When something moved closer to her, she startled, but it was only Tadao.

"Kagami, are you alright?" Tadao promptly asked her.

"What the hell is going on here!?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Miki. "Where's Tsukasa?" Miki asked. "Tadao, go back inside and get her! The rest of you stay out here. I'll call the police."

Kagami frowned as she became aware that her father had run into trouble and wouldn't be able to save Tsukasa alone. The strange sensation also spurred her to move, and she went into the garage, where she grabbed a wooden baseball bat. When her mother ringed a neighbor's door to ask for a phone, she slipped back inside the house.

The lights still flickered and she saw Tadao on the floor, struggling against a lamp cord around his neck. His face was turning red and one hand tried to grab the floating lamp, but it was too far for him. Not for Kagami though. One swing shattered the lamp and the cord's grip died out.

Tadao choked and took several deep breaths. "Thanks," he finally stammered. She helped him get up with one hand, holding her bat firmly in the other and her eyes on the surrounding. Several other pieces of furniture were moving towards them.

"Didn't your mom tell you to stay outside?"

A swarm of knives emerged from the kitchen and Kagami shouted, "Forget that! Go get Tsukasa, I'll cover you!"

He nodded and ran for the stairs.

As one, the knives shot at them. Kagami focused on the largest, batting them out of the air with two swings. The other knives hit her, but weren't sharp enough to cause more than a few shallow cuts. The knives on the ground rose to the air again and Kagami backed away, towards Tsukasa's room.

She slammed the door once inside. On the other side, the knives embedded themselves into the wood. She turned to find Tadao in the middle of stomping on an animated baby doll, which was breaking rapidly. Tsukasa was in a corner, wide eyes and frozen.

Kagami knelt down before her, noticing she had growing bruises on her face and neck in the form of tiny hands. Tsukasa's eyes were fixed on the doll and the remnants of several other toys.

"Tsukasa, it's gonna be okay, snap out of it," Kagami said, shaking her gently. Tsukasa's eyes finally fixed on her.

"Okay," she whispered. Kagami pulled her to her feet and looked back at Tadao, who was still stomping on the remnants of the doll.

"Let's go," she said. He gave one more furious stomp and breathed out.

"Our own house is trying to kill us ..." he muttered.

Kagami noticed Tsukasa's bed starting to shiver and rise. "Dad, we gotta go, now!"

The bed swung on its side and almost crushed him. Kagami threw the door open, batted away some of the knives that had gotten loose and pulled out Tsukasa. Tadao closed the door behind them, or at least tried to. The bed rammed against the door before it was shut, pushed into the hallway.

They managed to sprint through the hallway, seconds before the bed managed to worm itself out of the room.

Inside the kitchen, the table had already come to life and blocked the hallway back outside, and floating chairs tried to pierce the three of them. Tsukasa and Tadao ducked, but Kagami dodged around her assailant and ran for the nearest window, breaking it with her bat. She pulled loose one of the curtains and threw it over the glass. She already had enough cuts for today.

"Come on, let's get out!"

"Just our luck today," said Kagami, a few minutes after they came back outside. "First, these stones mess with our hair, and now our house just tried to kill all of us… Wait a minute! Maybe this isn't such a coincidence. Let's see if Konata's alright!"

With that, the seven of them all packed into the family car without hesitation, and drove at top speed the way there without worrying about running into anything or anyone.

* * *

The whole day, Konata had been meaning to meet up with Miyuki in person, eager to see her with her new hairstyle. It had slipped her mind during the long hours she had been in class, even after her other friends noticed and asked about it. Soujiro and Yui had asked as well when she got home, and that's when she finally remembered to give Miyuki a call… only to end up having to leave a message.

She figured she could just pay her a visit on the way to her part-time job in Akihabara, but only Yukari was home. Due to the nature of her job, the state of her hair was a slight issue after turning out to be stuck in place. Nevertheless, she did manage to cosplay as someone with all other aspects matching the character.

Coming home, she had once again forgotten about Miyuki, and settled in to play World of Warcraft for all hours of the night. It was when she heard someone knocking frantically at the door, long after her family had all gone to bed, that she would finally get to see her the way she was for herself… but she had the good sense not to comment this time, after noticing that she, among the entire Hiiragi family, were clearly in some kind of shock over something.

Some of her sudden guests looked like they had been in a brawl of sorts. Kagami was the one directly across the threshold from her.

"What brings you all here at this time of night, and what's with the bat?" Konata asked. "You all look kinda freaked out, too."

"I'm guessing nothing bad happened to you too, right?" the lavender-haired girl asked, between two heavy breaths.

"What're you talking about?"

"We were all asleep, and then I heard screams. Next thing I know, my lamp attacks me, and I just barely escape the house with my life. All of us made it out except Tsukasa. Dad and I went back in to find her, and then we figured that these things that did our hair up like this might've caused the whole thing."

"Wow, that must've been rough!" Konata commented. "Glad that didn't happen here, or else everything I worked so many hours to buy would've gone to waste."

Kagami was in no mood right now to make any snarky comments about her friend's obsessive collecting habits. Meanwhile, Soujiro, Yutaka, and Yui, having already heard Kagami's frantic knocking from moments earlier, had woken up to see who was there.

"Kagami-san," Miyuki started. "Did you find anything out about those things?"

"Now that you mention it, I didn't, but I did send out a whole bunch of emails. Y'know, to see if anyone else got them." said Kagami. "Guess I should've remembered to check them before going to bed." She then faced Konata. "Say, would it be okay if I borrowed your computer for a sec?"

"Go right ahead," said Konata.

As it turned out, only one person had replied to her, but the name seemed somewhat familiar, and it seemed this person would actually know what was going on.

_There actually aren't that many of those. They're part of what my dad's been researching for as long as I can remember. Let's meet up at my house tomorrow morning, and I'll explain everything then, okay?_

_-Rokuna Hiiragi_

"Dad!" Kagami called out upon returning, with Konata's cell phone in hand. "I just heard back from someone named Rokuna Hiiragi. Isn't that your cousin's daughter?"

"Yeah, that's right. What, she has trouble too?"

"No, but she seems she might know what's going on here. Tell me, what's their phone number?"

She dialed it in as he instructed, and a few moments went by before hearing back.

"Unnnggghhh….. Who is this?"

"Rokuna, is that you? The other two are both here, and you're the only other person who's gotten back to me so far. Something really bad just happened back at home, and we need to know as much as possible ASAP!"

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Let's all meet up at my house, okay?"

"Sure."

"Make sure you bring a weapon of some kind. It's gonna be dangerous."

"Right! See ya!" She then faced her friends after ending the call. "Konata, Miyuki, that was my cousin. We just agreed to go visit her. Get dressed and grab something to fight with."

"Sis?" said Tsukasa, her attention caught. "Would it be okay if I come with you too?"

"Well, sure, but you better be ready for whatever might be out there."

"Sorry I can't lend you my gun, but we do have plenty of other things you can use," said Yui.

Looking through different parts of the house, Miyuki had armed herself with a frying pan, and Konata found a yo-yo and a slingshot in a box of toys from her childhood, and decided to let Tsukasa wield the latter. As far as clothing went, though, there naturally wasn't anything of Konata's or Yutaka's that would've fit the other girls. Not that anyone was surprised, but this left the Hiiragi twins and Miyuki with no choice but to leave barefoot and in their pajamas, same way they had left home. But then again, they were expecting to return by dawn anyway.

Meanwhile, Yutaka started cooking a pot of rice. Konata noticed upon emerging from her room, now dressed up.

"Yuu-chan, what're you cooking rice for," she asked.

"Just making some riceballs for you guys, just in case you get hungry. Say, oneechan, would it be okay if I come along too?"

"Thanks, but you should stay here. We don't know what's out there that Kagami's cousin was talking about, but if anything happens here, I'm sure Yui-neesan will keep you safe." She then faced her other cousin. "Right, nee-san?"

"You can count on me!" the cop said. "As for you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, but you're a brave young girl. Just remember to _go for it!_" She whipped her fist out in a thumbs-up while saying those last three words.

* * *

The girls continued to get ready to leave, and said their goodbyes to their families. Soujiro, even after being informed by Tadao and Miki, had good faith in them and was willing to let his only daughter take risks in life. Tadao and Miki, though… not so much.

"Not on my watch!" said Tadao.

"What if something were to happen to you?" said Miki. "Why don't we just go see her tomorrow morning?"

"It's not like there's anything to animate out in the woods," Kagami replied.

"We never dreamed that something like back at home would be possible," said Miki. "If that could happen, then just think of what else might."

"I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you, and we weren't around to protect you," said Tadao.

"If what happened back at home actually is because of those things in our hair, then I wouldn't want all of you to be caught up in another poltergeist attack," Kagami replied.

"Especially Yuu-chan," Konata added.

"I would rather die alongside with you than be left without even _one_ of my daughters," said Tadao. "There is no way I am letting you sacrifice yourself to some dangerous situation or another!"

"Something's outside the front door!" Miyuki shouted to everyone. "We gotta leave!"

Kagami just barely darted away from her father as she and everyone else except Yui headed for the backdoor.

Tadao, having reason enough to believe her after the events from not too long ago, didn't bother to chase her, instead heading outside with Yui to confront whatever was outside.

"Freeze!" shouted Yui, pointing her gun at what turned out to be some silver, humanoid… thing, while Tadao tackled it to the ground in an attempt to pin it down. The creature only warped out from underneath Tadao and pressed its pod-like foot down on him, and then pointed its tentacle-like arm at him before gathering pink energy at the tip. Yui promptly fired a few rounds into its back, and it warped to the side of the house, only to receive a blow to the head from Soujiro, who had just fetched a sledgehammer from the shed. A few more whacks, and it couldn't take anymore and left.

"Thanks, guys" said Tadao, between heavy breaths, as he and Yui regrouped with Soujiro.

* * *

In the midst of the flight, the four seniors ditched their families and headed into the forest. Kagami drew the cell phone out and called Rokuna again.

"Rokuna! Let's meet up at the hill in the woods. Something was outside Konata's house, and we just had to leave."

"No problem!"

* * *

The woods were silent and lit only by the moon and stars. Kagami led the way with the bat and a flashlight, not only knowing where to go, but also as the most alert and sensible one of the group. The path she and her friends were on was narrow, but wide enough not to require them to walk single-file.

Not long after they entered the forest did they encounter their first adversaries. The growl of a medium-sized brown dog wearing square glasses, the caw of a large-yellow-beaked crow wearing sunglasses and a purple bowtie, and the hiss of a green snake coiled up like it was ready to pounce, could all be heard simultaneously.

"That's odd," said Konata. "Why would a dog and a crow be wearing—"

She didn't have time to finish as the dog pounced and bit her. The snake coiled around Tsukasa, and the crow flew up to Miyuki and pecked her in the worst place possible: at her bespectacled eyes. None of them had time to react, and they screamed and hit the dirt in fright and pain.

Kagami froze up, having to choose who to aid first and not wanting to accidentally hit any of her friends instead of their assailants with the bat.

Choosing her sister first, she dropped the bat and attempted to pull the snake off of her. Her strength alone wasn't enough to pull it completely off, but at least enough to allow Tsukasa to hold its head away from her.

"Hang in there!" said Kagami. "I'll try getting Konata or Miyuki to help you too!"

She picked the bat back up, and gave a barefoot kick to the crow, hurting her foot with such a move, and then swung the bat at the bird and sent it packing.

She then turned to Konata, who was curled up and thrashing on the ground while the dog continued to bite her in the leg. She brought the bat down onto the mutt, eliciting a yelp from it before it turned on her.

At this point, Miyuki was slowly recovering from her ordeal with the crow, hands still over her eyes. While her glasses were broken thanks to the bird, she didn't need them to realize that her friends were still in trouble once she uncovered her eyes. A burst of adrenaline helped her recover the rest of the way, and she armed herself with the frying pan to give the dog several whacks, before accidentally hitting Kagami instead and causing her some pain.

"Sorry!" she said, as the mutt ran off.

"Save," said Kagami, while breathing fast and heavy. "Tsukasa!"

Miyuki looked in Tsukasa's general direction, to notice that she was starting to give way to the snake. Konata had gotten up by now, and both she and Miyuki went over to deal with the reptile. The combined strength of all three girls helped get it off and throw it to the side, after which Kagami finished it off with the bat.

All four girls settled down to nurse their wounds and examine one another's.

"Miyuki," said Kagami. "Don't tell me your glasses are broken."

"I sorta spaced out, and then that crow pecked at my eyes and broke them."

"Come to think of it, Konata sometimes talks about how you do that a lot. Not like we ever had to go through anything like this before, so now you need to start paying attention to stuff more than ever. Anyway, that snake we just fought… Were you able to tell whether it's poisonous or not?"

"Well, there are poisonous species where we live. I could barely see what kind that one was, but I don't think it contains venom," she answered.

"Well, that's a relief," said the Kagami.

* * *

Hidden among the trees, the silver alien observed the girls. Still having a headache from its previous skirmish, it wasn't up for another fight at the moment. Besides which, they could only fight for so long. At this rate, they eventually would succumb.

* * *

A handful of battles later, the girls reached and climbed the hill. Halfway up, they found a small white box with a ribbon tied neatly around it.

"Hmm. Wonder how that got here," said Tsukasa, walking up to it before kneeling down and almost opening it.

"Considering everything that's happened today, I'd probably leave it alone," said Kagami.

* * *

The girl they met at the top wore a yellow shirt and a red skirt and sneakers. Her hair was a rich shade of brown, and like theirs, had been arranged into a big beehive. Resting next to her while she had been sitting was a wooden sword, which the others could tell had been her weapon of choice.

"Hi. I'm Rokuna Hiiragi," she said, as she picked up the bokken and got up. "Let me fix you up."

She extended her hand towards them.

"P. K. Healing. Alpha."

A green glow emanated, healing up Kagami's wounds and removing the tears and bloodstains from their clothes. She repeated the process for the other three girls. They thanked her, before Kagami continued.

"That's not gonna have any weird side effects, is it?"

"Don't worry. It won't." said Rokuna.

"Thanks. Anyway, it's been a while since we met," she said. 'These are my friends, Konata and Miyuki. We've actually been friends since the beginning of high school."

"Hi," said the former. "I'm Konata Izumi. Nice to meetcha."

"My name is Miyuki Takara," said the latter. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"So anyway," said Kagami. "What _is_ the deal with these stones, our hair, and everything that's happened tonight, and how did you manage to heal us up like that?"

"From what Dad told me," said Rokuna, "there are actually supposed to be twelve of those altogether. They're supposed to enable you to use some weird powers, but they require really long hair in order to take a host."

"So what's been causing stuff to attack us?" asked Kagami.

"Actually, you were being targeted because of them. According to Dad, this is just the beginning of an alien invasion from a distant planet, and the gemstones are what will help us fight back."

"Just as I thought, in a way," said Kagami. "We had our hair done up against our will by these stupid things, and now _everything_ is gonna try to kill us. Except, at least it's not the gemstones themselves that caused all that."

"So, how do we know what we are capable of?" asked Miyuki.

"You just kinda realize it subconsciously. Dad should know more about it, so let's go to my house and ask him."

The other girls agreed to that idea. Kagami lent Rokuna the flashlight, and let her lead them back to her house.

They weren't attacked by any more animals from that point on, but something much worse was yet to come.

Not long after they came back down, a silver light flashed throughout the area, and down came a metallic humanoid thing with tentacles for arms, some buttons on the right half of its chest, and a visor where its face should have been.

"**Everyone spread out!"** shouted Rokuna.

She ran right past the Starman Jr., while the other four girls ran off in other directions to the sides. Unfortunately, despite being made of titanium, it was able to move quite fluidly, and was also capable of night-vision to seek them out. It looked to its right, spotted Konata, and teleported continually after her until she couldn't run any more, before extending one of its arms forward.

"**Keep moving!" **she could hear Kagami shout, who had sensed the alien chasing her and had followed it in turn. The blue-haired girl instead hit the dirt as a pink, foot-thick laser narrowly shot past her, ripping through any trees that were in its direct path.

Kagami then extended her hand forward, and shot out a wave of fire. Needless to say, this had the unfortunate effect of setting numerous trees ablaze, but also did its job of hurting the alien. Their enemy warped out of the flames, but was still hurt from being scorched in the first place.

"**Behind you!" **shouted Konata. Too late, as the alien, now riled up, swung its arm upside her head, knocking her on the ground. It then stepped towards her to stomp on her with its metallic, pod-like foot, but was stopped by a bolt of lightning and a shot of winter-cold energy, both attacks which caused its body to melt and crack at the same time. Tsukasa had also come to her aid, and helped her get up and out of the alien's way as it collapsed.

Rokuna then drew out her cell phone, and called the local fire department to alert them of the fire that Kagami accidentally started.

"That's exactly what I sensed outside of Konata-san's house," said Miyuki, after Rokuna finished the call.

"Must've been desperate to try to kill us itself," said Rokuna.

"You think that thing was responsible for what happened back at our house?" asked Kagami.

"If it was, then I guess we're safe for now," said Rokuna. "I can't seem to sense any more around here. Anyway, don't rely on psionics _too_ much. You can only use it so much each day, and the most common way to use more of it is to find a magic butterfly, but even they don't recover that much."

"Magic butterfly?" the other girls said, almost in unison.

"Oh, they exist, but only psychics can tell them apart from normal ones."

* * *

**Author's notes: **For those of you who don't know, Rokuna is actually from an obscure anime called Mon Colle Knights, although she's called "Rockna" in all non-Japanese versions. Canonically, she is eleven years old and her hair is green and far too short to be updone. However, given how childlike Lucky Star's canon characters are, she would certainly pass as a teenager in their universe. Changed her hair color to brown because that happens to be my favorite, I want a brunette on the team for as much of the fic as possible, and to be revealed in my MCK fic Cult later on, the original Rokuna's hair would have been brown if not for certain circumstances. And, while her hair is canonically very short, several cameos of her mother in the manga indicate that she likely would be viable for a hive when she's older (given the sheer length of hers and that hair length is genetic. Tsukasa and other short-haired girls will not be getting their hair updone, under any circumstances.)

**And finally, **if anyone's interested, be sure to check the links in my profile for some interesting stuff.


	2. The Legacy of Shigesato Hiiragi

**Author's notes: **For those of you who are interested in contributing characters to this story, I will not be accepting characters from other works. Rokuna is an exception, because she and other child characters from her own show are designed similar to the Lucky Star girls, she shares the same last name with Tsukasa and Kagami, and since she's canonically eleven years old, I thought I might take a jab at how childlike the LS girls are despite being so much older than her. More importantly, though, there are also plot-related reasons, which I intend to explain when they become relevant.

(Incidentally, Mon Colle Knights desperately needs more love anyway, all dubs notwithstanding).

**Revised: **A previous version of this chapter assumed that Yutaka had simply gone back home. However, offpage, she is still with Miki, Inori, and Matsuri with the four mains ditch them and head into the woods, and it's simply unlikely that they would send her back home when _they_ don't know that it's safe there again.

(Also made some minor edits earlier on regarding the girls' cell phones. It's unlikely that they would have had time to get them before escaping the poltergeist attack. Therefore, I've changed it so that Kagami had used Konata's cell to call Rokuna in the previous chapter, etc.)

* * *

**Chapter 2: **The Legacy of Shigesato Hiiragi

"Now that I think of it, I do sorta remember my hair brushing against the bedframe after using the bathroom," said Kagami, as the girls all walked back to Rokuna's house. "I was still feeling sleepy, so I figured I'd try to understand what happened in the morning, and then I totally forgot about it."

"Didn't you notice in the mirror?" asked Tsukasa.

"Looked normal there," said Kagami. "Must've happened while I was walking back. I mean, I was moving kinda slow, being all drowsy and stuff."

"I remember Yuu-chan asking, 'Onee-chan, how did you style your hair like that?,' just as we reached the school and were about to split up," said Konata. "I'm like, 'Huh?' I was so sure it was straight back at home."

"Mine happened just in the hallway," said Miyuki. "Everyone was asking each other things like 'Hey, what is that?', and 'What's happening to that girl's hair?'. I was so embarrassed that I hid inside the girls' room to get away from it all."

"I got mine for my birthday yesterday," said Rokuna.

"Wait! Your birthday just passed by!?" asked Kagami. "Happy late birthday, Rokuna!" The others chimed in as well.

"Thanks, guys. Anyway, my dad gave me the entire set that he had been studying, except for one of them," said the brunette. "I picked the emerald, but then the rest of them disappeared."

"Wait! So you set that all off, didn't you!" shouted Kagami.

"No fair." said Konata. "I didn't get to see _what_ the choices were."

"I'm sorry," said Rokuna.

"Oh, it's alright," said Miyuki. "I'm sure you didn't mean any harm."

"I guess you're right," said Kagami.

"Anyway, yeah, I would've totally invited you guys if me, Gami-chan, and Kasa-chan saw each other a lot more often, and if I had even known Kona-chan and Yuki-chan longer than tonight."

"No biggie," said Konata. "Not like me and Yuu-chan hung around all that much until she got accepted into our school. You guys _are_ just cousins after all, right?"

"Technically, we're second cousins," said Rokuna. "Kasa-chan and Gami-chan's dad is my dad's cousin."

"So, how did you feel about having your hair done up?" asked Tsukasa.

"I gotta admit it was a little embarrassing at first, but in a good way," said Rokuna. "After that, I totally looked forward to showing it off at school today."

"Wait! In a _good_ way?" asked Kagami, dumbfounded. "I was _just_ embarrassed! I felt like everyone at school would make fun of me. I'm glad they didn't, but being gawked at all day still wasn't exactly comforting."

"For me, it was as if it marked my transition into adulthood," said Rokuna. "Guess I can't blame you, though, since it was totally out of the blue for you."

"I suppose that's one way to put it," said Miyuki. "It _is _more becoming of an adult, after all."

"Not like I was planning to wear my hair in pigtails at any point past college," said Kagami. "Other than that, I don't get it."

"My eighteenth birthday is when he told me that I could choose a gemstone. He didn't want me using their powers until I was mature enough to use them responsibly. They do say, that with power comes responsibility."

"I'll bet it feels good to be an adult, doesn't it," said Konata.

"You're not exactly responsible yourself, Konata," said Kagami. "The only thing you care about being an adult is being able to buy erotic dating sims on your own. Besides, with this kind of hair, you only care about 'moe'."

* * *

The party eventually reached Rokuna's house. Inside, Tadao, Miki, Inori, Matsuri, and Yutaka had all been sitting on the floor while waiting. There was also an olive-skinned, bespectacled man with black hair tied in a ponytail and reaching just past his shoulders.

"You girls went anyway, didn't you?" shouted Tadao.

"What are we gonna do with you!?" said Matsuri.

"Well excuse us for trying to lead our enemy away from you!" Kagami snapped, overpowering Miyuki and Tsukasa's feeble attempts at an apology.

"We were all worried sick about you," said Miki.

"If Konata and Rokuna's dads want to let you endanger yourselves, there's nothing we can do about that, but our dad explicitly told you not to leave," said Inori.

"You wanna know what was out there?" asked Tadao.

"A Starman Junior," Rokuna answered.

"That's what that metal humanoid thing was?" asked Tadao.

"It was going after us in particular," said Rokuna.

"Besides, we totally owned that thing with some new psychic powers we got!" said Konata.

"What powers!?" the man asked.

"Perhaps mine would be the safest to demonstrate," said Miyuki, motioning for everyone to come outside. Everyone got up from the floor, Tadao rather painfully.

"PK Healing alpha," said Rokuna, noticing Tadao's minor injuries from his previous skirmish. In no time flat, the pain subsided.

"Thanks, Rokuna-chan…" he muttered as he looked over his healed injuries in wonder.

"No problem," said Rokuna.

Everyone came outside, and the brunette pointed the flashlight at a rock.

"P. K. Freeze. Alpha," said Miyuki, causing a layer of ice to form on the rock. Amazed whispering rose from the family members. After some hesitation, Matsuri stepped toward the rock, hunching down to look at it.

"Don't touch it," Miyuki said. "It's so cold it could crack your skin. In fact…"

She increased focus on her power, and the ice broke the rock to pieces.

"With something like that, I guess I could give you girls some leeway, then," said Tadao.

"Why don't you all spend the night here at our place," said Rokuna's father. "Or rather, what's left of the night. Tomorrow, I, the brilliant scientist Ichirobei Hiiragi, will explain how it all works."

Rokuna reassured everyone that there wouldn't be another attack like the several that had already happened, explaining how it had happened and that she didn't sense anything suspicious lurking around.

"So, Yuu-chan," said Konata. "How did you get here?"

"She was with us," said Inori. "My dad told me that it's safe at your house again, so we'll be sure to bring her back tomorrow once we all leave."

"Yuu-chan?" asked Rokuna. "So you must be Kona-chan's cousin, huh?"

"How did you know?"

"She mentioned you several times on our way back here. So how old are you?"

"Sixteen," said the cherry-haired girl. Rokuna giggled, thinking she was pulling her leg.

"No, really. A lot of people mistake me for someone's kid sister, but I'm actually a freshman at Ryouou High."

"Are you really?" asked Rokuna.

"Yep!" Konata answered for her. "Kinda like Ayu, y'know?"

"I don't think she does," said Kagami.

* * *

Having had sleeping arrangements made for them that night, everyone slept a good few hours in the following morning, regaining the sleep they had all lost that night. They all got up individually from one another and fixed themselves some breakfast. Konata and Miyuki were sure to introduce themselves to Ichirobei as soon as all three of them were awake.

After everyone was awake, Ichirobei had already arranged a slideshow on everything he was about to explain.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Or should I say, ladies and Tada-niisan?" Ichirobei began, clad in his lab coat. "Now is the time we've all been waiting for!

"To start, some of you are still wondering why your hair is shaped like a beehive, or whatever you wanna compare it to. That is, assuming my daughter hasn't explained already. Well, take a look at this."

He flipped the slide, which then depicted an oval-shaped gem.

"This is no ordinary crystal. It's called a Magé Stone, one of twelve containing the potential for various psychokinetic powers."

He then flipped the slide, to show some kind of diagram depicting a long-haired girl with a crystal over her head.

"In order to work, the first thing they need is, a host. What is required in a host? Well, one thing is obvious: Really long hair. Way longer than my own, in fact. Other than that, even I don't fully understand what else they look for, which is exactly why I study them in my grandfather's place."

The next slide showed the girl's head with her hair done up. The crystal was also shown at the center of her hive, and some curved lines were shown connecting the crystal to her brain.

"Once they find someone, though, their hair then rises up and wraps around the crystal to keep it in place. From there, the crystal interacts with the brain, essentially becoming part of it."

He then flipped the slide, which showed a list of sorts. Each item on the list appeared as he cited them.

"Now, the first thing it does is give the host a sixth sense, which allows her to speak to people via telepathy and tell what's going elsewhere. Then, it enables her to do more complex things, like what Miyuki-chan showed all of us just last night. Any questions?"

"I don't get it," said Kagami. "Last night, I was able to tell that Dad and Tsukasa were in trouble during the poltergeist attack, but we had to drive all the way to Konata's house to make sure she was okay. Are you saying that we could've saved ourselves a trip there if I just used my new sixth sense for that?"

"I could assume that that was the crystal that detected what was going on inside your house," said the professor. "It _is _supposed to work automatically the first time around, just to make you aware of it, but long-range detection will take a little practice before you can use it fluently."

"So that's how I managed to detect the Starman Jr. outside Konata-san's house," said Miyuki. "Under normal circumstances, I tend to space out and not notice things in my surroundings that even normal people would."

"Spacing out?" he replied. "That would be a problem indeed, for what's about to come. But, you know what they say: The real you is brought out in times of crisis."

"What's about to come?" asked Miki, while Miyuki grew worried from self-doubt.

"Tell me we're not in for more danger," said Matsuri.

A second passed by in silence, before Ichirobei continued, not so upbeat anymore.

"I'm afraid we are," he said.

"You've got to be kidding us," said Inori.

"That alien, the one who summoned the poltergeist on you, before eventually coming after you personally, was just a scout," said Ichirobei. "It's a good thing you girls managed to kill him outright, lest he report back to his superiors. This whole world, along with others, is in for a full-scale invasion coming from a distant planet known as Philosoma. That is exactly why the crystals exist."

Everyone's hearts sunk. They exchanged worried glances, some started shifting in their seats, while others gave a disbelieving little laugh.

"Do you really think _we'd _be able to stand up to entire armies of Starmen!?" asked Kagami. "We barely managed to defeat _that_ one!"

"Actually, it still wouldn't be enough if all twelve of the Magé Stones each found a host," said Ichirobei. "The _real_ key is to find the Goddess of Good Fortune, who also just so happened to be my long-dead grandmother. In order to find _her_, there are places on the planet rich with a mysterious energy, each guarded by a monster with tremendous power. Each time you conquer one of these spots, you'll be given clues on how to find her, before being brought to another part of the world to find the next one."

"Goddess?" asked Matsuri. "Dead grandmother? Aliens ... this is getting too crazy ... how would you even know all this?"

"My grandfather did some kind of research about everything after his wife was chosen by a gemstone, and kept a diary of everything that had happened since then. My father continued everything for him, and to this day, I have taken my turn to continue his research. Here, I'll go retrieve his diary, in case any of you are interested."

He left the room. Tsukasa and Yutaka clung to Kagami and Konata, whimpering, and they in turn embraced them to comfort them. Everyone else looked speechlessly at one another, except for Rokuna, who already had known about the events to come. At any point beforehand, they would have likely dismissed Ichirobei as just some nutjob, but everything that had happened the previous day and night gave them plenty of reason to believe him.

"Guess I'll go make you all some lunch, if that'll perk everyone up," said Rokuna, before heading into the kitchen.

"No!" said Tadao. "There is no way I'm gonna let you girls go out and sacrifice yourselves! There's gotta be a way to save you from this! **There's got to!"**

"I'm gonna have a word with your cousin when he comes back," said Miki to Tadao, before turning to the girls. "Miyuki, I would at least suggest you fill your parents in on all this." She then faced Tsukasa. "You, though, should probably stay home with us."

"But why?" asked Tsukasa.

"Mom's right," said Kagami. "You don't have the kind of powers that the rest of us barely saved ourselves with."

"But you're the only close friends I have," said Tsukasa. "If you all die, I won't have anyone left that I feel so close to."

"She has a point," said Miyuki. "She is our friend, after all."

"Yeah," said Konata. "At least Yuu-chan still has Minami-san and her friends to hang out with. Besides, I gave her a slingshot last night. She could be like an archer or something for us."

"I only let her come with us through the woods because none of us even _knew_ about the powers that all of us _except_ her have," said Kagami. "Knowing her, she'd probably just get scared and drag us down."

Tsukasa couldn't help but think that Kagami was right. Twice, she had to save her, and her only real contribution in return was to help Kagami escape from the slain Starman Jr. just before its body collapsed on her.

"I know how you feel, Tsukasa," said Miyuki. "You must understand, though, how much your family cares about you. I'm sure it would devastate them if you were killed."

"Here it is!" said Ichirobei, upon returning with the book. Said book was yellow with age, wrinkled, and stained.

"Are you out of your mind!?" asked Miki, as she shot up from the floor. "Tell me there's a way to cancel this whole thing out."

"I'm afraid there isn't," said the scientist.

"How could you let the crystals take hold of my daughter?"

"I didn't have any control over who they would choose, short of Rokuna."

"You gave one of them to your own daughter!?" asked Tadao. "What kind of a father are **you!?** Knowing how much danger she would be in!"

"This, actually, is the very reason I even had a daughter. It was all in the name of our grandfather. I made everything clear to her _long_ before entrusting her with the ones I had and letting her choose one, giving her plenty of time to consider whether to accept her destiny or opt out altogether. It was her choice to make in the end."

"Oh yeah!?" asked Kagami. "What if she refused? Would you have had another daughter for them to prey on? And how did I just so happen to be the next one, followed by two of my friends? Was there no one else—"

"_Everything's fine," _said Rokuna, telepathically, upon sensing their outrage. _"Please, guys. Don't be so hard on my dad. He was only doing what he thought was right. I'm sure it would be better than if none of us had any idea on how to deal with the oncoming invasion."_

They all took a moment to calm down, and then Miki continued.

"Ichirobei-hakase. If it's this important, I'd be willing to take Kagami's place in things instead."

"I know how you feel," said Ichirobei. "I, myself, had hoped things would never come to this, that my own daughter would be able to live a normal life even after choosing whether or not to become a psychic, and to decide whether or not to carry on Shigesato's legacy even after I die."

"I do hope this isn't permanent," said Miyuki. "Even if we weren't in any danger, the thought of going out in public with my hair this way still feels embarrassing."

"Once they've chosen a host, they are pretty much one with them, as far as I know," said Ichirobei.

"Doesn't bother me so much," said Konata. "I just wonder if it will still be moe when we're adults."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure awkwardness would be the _least _of our problems," said Kagami. "Like, would we still be able to get jobs anywhere like this? I mean, we would totally distract people at school or work. I know I did just yesterday. Not to mention how afraid people would be of us with the kinds of powers we have. And, how much control will we have over telepathy and stuff like that?"

"And, if I might add, whose idea was it to design them to target teenagers, while their brains are undergoing so much development as they are?" asked Inori.

"Not mine," said Ichirobei. "I didn't design them, so I don't make the rules. I just study their properties and how they work. I'm sure you will find all your answers once you meet the goddess. In the meantime, while my daughter's making lunch for everyone, I guess I'll start reading my grandpa's diary to all of you."

Inside, the first entry read:

_August 12, Meiji 45_

_For some reason, my wife's hair was piled high atop her head. She claims not to have arranged it that way herself. Both of us tried to dismantle it, but each handful we pull out just arranges itself back in place._

_I can't help but wonder how this could have happened?_

"Tell me about it," said Kagami.

_August 27, Meiji 45_

_Today, I saw an oval-shaped stone appear over someone's head. Her hair rose up and wrapped itself around the stone, becoming shaped just like it. I went up to her, and explained what happened with my wife, before asking if I could extract the object. She gave me permission, and I dug it out._

_Her hair fell back down, but she herself fell unconscious. I tried placing the stone back in the position it was in, but it didn't work._

Kagami couldn't help but gasp in shock upon hearing that. Ichirobei stopped for the moment as everyone looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.

"Good thing I didn't know there even _was_ a stone in my hair!" she said.

"Good thing I didn't even mind my hair being the way it is," said Konata.

"If anything hits any of us hard enough to knock it out, we'd be totally done for!" said Kagami.

"Actually," said Ichirobei. "The gemstones are pretty secure where they are. Even if something were to hit you in the hair… well, it would be just as deadly anyway if it got you anywhere else, but assuming your hair doesn't get chopped off, the only other practical way to remove it would be to actively pry it away. And even then, they are _incredibly _hot when active, and I'm sure you would notice in a heartbeat if something were to attempt to steal it."

"So how did he take it?" asked Matsuri.

"Obviously, he'd have to have put on some kind of gloves after failing the first time," said Ichirobei. "And, as we just read, she had given him permission to remove it. Anyway…"

_Short of seppuku, the only way I'll be able to atone for her state of being is to seek to understand the meaning of this. I will find the others to enlist as my research subjects while studying the stone I should not have taken in the first place._

"Lunch is ready, guys!" Rokuna called from the threshold.

* * *

Everything that Rokuna prepared for them was barely describable and very unappetizing. The smell of garlic was so strong that every one of her guests couldn't help but suddenly stop and pinch their noses shut upon entering the dining room.

"What _is_ all that!?" asked Tsukasa.

"Geez, Rokuna!" said Kagami. "How much garlic did you use on all that!?"

"It's awful," said Miyuki.

"Totally not moe," said Konata.

"None of you like what you're seeing?" asked Rokuna, disappointedly, before taking a bite of something herself. "Tastes just fine to me."

"It's not that none of us like garlic," said Miyuki, letting go of her nose as she stepped forward to speak to the brunette. "I'm sure this could have turned out wonderful, had you not used so much of it. I suppose I'll try some of it myself, though, if it makes you feel better."

She picked up an onigiri and took a bite out of it, chewing for several seconds.

"How is it, Miyuki-san?" asked Konata.

"Well," said the pink-haired girl. "It has somewhat of an individual flavor to it…"

For a moment, it seemed like she was going to give Rokuna some praise for it. But then…

"Please excuse me," said Miyuki, before heading outside, fearing she might vomit.

"That settles it," said Kagami. "Tsukasa, you are totally in!"

"Yaaay!" said her twin sister, releasing her nose to bring her fists in front of her chest in one fluid motion.

"Rokuna, why don't you take a few lessons from her as long as we're going out," Kagami continued.

"Sorry about the way it turned out," said the brunette, looking down and blushing.

"Don't worry about me," said Ichirobei, who had taken some pork noodles for himself. "I've been eating stuff like this for years. Of course, this _would_ be so much more lively if my wife hadn't left me and Rokuna."

"Now that you mention it, what did happen between you and—" asked Tadao, before Miyuki came back in. "Oh, Miyuki-chan. Were you alright?"

"I can't say that I was," she said. "In any case, that diary was certainly interesting, Hiiragi-hakase."

"I'm glad you liked it," said Ichirobei.

"I would love to bring it with me to read further, but my glasses broke last night," said Miyuki. "If only I had brought a spare pair with me," said Miyuki.

"Oh, you wear glasses?" asked Rokuna.

"A crow pecked at them on our way through the woods," said Miyuki. "I was really scared that it would peck my eyes out and blind me."

"I've got plenty of spares!" said Ichirobei, taking off the rectangular pair he was wearing. "Here, try these on."

"Thank you," said the pink-haired girl, before trying them on.

"Hmmm," said Konata. "That doesn't look moe at all."

"Hate to say it, but I actually agree with you for once," said Kagami.

"I guess you're right," said Miyuki, as she handed them back to Ichirobei. "Are these custom, by any chance?"

"Hmmm… I don't think they are. Sorry."

"Ever think of trying contact lenses?" asked Rokuna.

"She's afraid of those," said Konata. "She once paced around in front of the eye doctor's when she was supposed to get an eye exam, and ended up walking into the building sign before leaving. Talk about moe!"

"I see," said Rokuna. "Well, I should be able to fix any other pairs that break with Healing, along with any damage they might do to your eyes."

"Really?" said Miyuki. "That would be wonderful!"

"Why don't you call your mom to come bring you a pair?" asked Kagami. "I mean, mine did tell you to let her know where we're going."

"Oh, that's right! I forgot all about that," said Miyuki. Rokuna lent her her cell phone, and she dialed her home phone number. "Hello. Mother?"

"Why, hello, Miyuki," said her mother, Yukari. "Is anything the matter?"

"Well, I need you to come bring me a spare pair of glasses, if you're able to."

"Did something happen to the ones you were wearing?"

"Well…" She couldn't muster up the courage to tell her mother the full truth behind things just yet, considering how protective Tadao and Miki had become of their own daughters during the previous night's events. "We ended up sleeping over at a relative's house of Tsukasa-san and Kagami-san's. I somehow misplaced mine before going to bed, and now I can't remember where they are."

"Oh? Where are you?"

"Konata," said Kagami, handing the blue-haired girl her cell back. "Maybe you should fill your dad in as well about our new journey. We didn't expect that we'd even be going on one."

Konata dialed her father up, and only a moment went by before he picked up.

"Konata," he said. "Is that you?"

"Hi, Dad! Just wanna let you know that we're about to go on a really dangerous adventure once we bring Yuu-chan back home!"

"Good luck out there! Make it back in one piece or else!"

Both her call and Miyuki's with Yukari ended, and the two of them turned around to fill the others in on stuff.

"Okay, Dad's cool with it," said Konata.

"My mother should stop by at any minute," said Miyuki.

"Did you tell her about where we're going?" asked Kagami. Miyuki hesitated for a moment, before answering.

"Umm, no. I'll be sure to when she gets here, though."

"How about if I fill her in for you instead, okay?" said Kagami, before turning to Rokuna. "Rokuna. It's safe to go back home, right?"

"At this point, I'd say it should be," said Rokuna.

"Thanks," said Kagami, before facing her sisters. "Say, I'm gonna need you to go back home with Mom and Dad to take care of Gyopi while we're gone. Okay?"

"How do we even know it's safe to go back?" asked Inori.

"Don't worry," said Rokuna, overhearing. "I'll come home with you, if that makes you feel safer. I'd love to see it for myself, too."

"I've never taken care of a goldfish before," said Matsuri. "Mind telling us what's involved?"

Simple," said Kagami. "Just one scoop of fish food each day. No more than that. Can't have him getting fatter than he already is. Also, if you see algae in the pond, make sure you clear it away. Got it?"

"Right," Inori and Matsuri both said.

"Well, guess I'll log onto my game just to say bye to everyone, if it's okay with Rokuna-san," said Konata.

* * *

Elsewhere sat a certain snaggletoothed blonde woman in front of her computer, reading something by her blue-haired student as she played the game in question.

"Psychic powers?" she said. "Adventure? Fighting aliens? And Hiiragi-san and Takara-san are in on this too?"


End file.
